In a historic statement made by video call from his residence, Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States, has forcefully declared: “I am totally innocent. I did nothing wrong.” These seven words resonated in the New York court in the trial for 34 convictions of falsification of business records related to the case of paying hush money to former porn actress Stephanie Clifford, known as ‘Stormy Daniels’.
Trump was sentenced this Friday by a New York court to an “unconditional release”, a type of sentence that does not involve a fine, jail or parole, so he can continue his path to the presidency for the second time, becoming He became the first elected president in US history to be convicted of a serious crime before his inauguration.
The case revolves around an alleged payment of $130,000 to the actress during the 2016 presidential campaign. The payment would have been made to prevent Daniels from making public accusations of a sexual encounter with Trump, something that the president-elect categorically denies. Instead of admitting guilt, Trump called the allegations a “political hoax” and accused his Democratic opponents of orchestrating a witch hunt to damage his reputation.
“This experience has been terrible,” Trump declared during the hearing. “It is an embarrassment to the New York judicial system and a failed political attempt to influence the election.”
Despite the criticism and the weight of the case, Trump assured that popular support for his candidacy remains strong, arguing that voters “saw what happened in this court and supported our cause.”
Judge Merchan’s decision ends the judicial process at this stage, but Trump’s lawyers have indicated that they will file an appeal.
